Would Totem Arro's be a significant upgrade from Kef Q150's

Yes, i have heard both the floorstander and your bookshelf in that Revel Be series.

Get the ’upgrade package’ with the mundorf/clarity caps, binding post, etc as it is a sonic improvement. If you bought such things separately as a diy-er, it would cost you as much @immatthewj . You’d be hard pressed to find a company that operates on as much a razor thin margin as this one in this world of audiophilia.

Ignore the grill (a sonic detriment, especially with this mid array) unless you have a dog or kid waiting to destroy the speaker any minute. Ignore the high gloss and biwire. If one of the default paints don’t work, they give you a custom color option for an extra 50, i.e. as long as you nail the correct color for your room’s decor, you should be good.

I guess it is safe to assume that you have done a direct comparison between the M126be and the Epic 15, @deep_333 ? I guess I’d probably pop $100 for the grilles, $75 for biwireable, and I wonder what the $210 upgrade package is? I would probably have to look into that. I would not spend 1k for the high gloss option. I suppose that is part of the price of the Revels, because I do think that they are gorgeous, but I was and am more interested in spending $ on sonic technology.

@immatthewj I think you have become too analytical*. (Anal as some would say.)

Focus on the music, forget the sound, for a little bit. It seems to me the Revels are great speakers, from your description.

*I am doing it with amps now

Hey @immatthewj wait a second. I just kinda realized something looking back at other threads. So you have the standard Cary V12 or V12I amp then now?

Before you try and test any more speakers, there could be a whole separate thread on what caps and tubes you have in your preamp and your amp now. Gotta tell ya, I drove myself crazy with my former V12R until I made upgrades, and this changed everything downstream for the speakers. Speakers reacted differently. Like, I’m saying, maybe a whole separate thread and i’ll pose two questions. Maybe take it over to a V12 thread or something as I can’t reply to msgs due to Agon fees, CC.

You can send me a msg, with these answers, and I’ll have to send a separate message later to reply back - separately.

Amp: Is the V12 all stock, and does it have the old original gray looking AudioOne coupling caps in it now? [if so, its time for a change, no doubt]. What front end EL84s do you have it it now, what brand/model/era. Same goes for 6922s etc.

Preamp: Do you run the SLP-05 preamplifier now [or am I confused]. Exactly what tubes/model/era are you running in the preamp now? [if running the new Tung Sol tubes, they are smoothed over, kinda veiled over, not good in my Cary SLP98]. I run other TJ Full Music there and just received new PSVane Art Series II 6SN7s direct from the factory and testing those soon. Opening box in just a bit, fyi.

If I’m remotely close to these other assumptions, its definitely worth a serious look here first before more speaker buys imo, and fwiw. Before I upgraded my V12R, it was a bit more flat and dull sounding. After the upgrades, it was truly amazing. The new owner was astonished at the sound, he also compared it at his friends house against a very high $ Aesthetix amplifier and both said my upgraded Cary V12r surpassed the sound of the Aesthetix. They drove it hard I guess, even with massive electrostats until it ran hot for weeks I guess, and had a transformer meltdown or something  The only thing upgraded in that V12R was the coupling caps and the smaller input/driver tubes up front to very nice matched vintage tubes. If you want more open and large sound with a V12, this will do it. Send me a msg with the answers fwiw.  

@decooney , not all that long ago I was able to send someone a message by hovering the cursor over their icon and clicking on the send message when it appeared in the drp down box.  For some reason, that function no longer works for me.  I know from reading I have done on this site that there was a pretty good thread with a discussion you had going with @oldhvymec , but I wonder if anyone would mind if I just started a new V12 thread in 'amps/preamps'?  I'll give it a try, and if it is a line crosser, the mods can just delete it.

If you don’t love how your speakers sound, I say move on.  Try something else you can buy, try and return for little or no money.  I have the Revel M126Be and I love them.  the best bookshelves I’ve heard in my listening room.  I tried the KEF R3 Meta, B&W 705 S2 and S3 and others and I preferred the Revels.  I believe there is no perfect speaker only what’s perfect for you based on what you like, your room and your budget etc.  FOMO is a different story.  It’s a definite challenge with this hobby.